ive just damaged my CCD camera :-(

Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

SOB SOB

Hayley

On Sun, 12 Oct 2003 10:05:02 +0100, "Hayley"
wrote:

Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

SOB SOB

Hayley


Hayley, I am puzzled that you should do this? If you join the groups
relating to your CCD camera (eg StarlightExpress), people will explain
exactly how to treat the camera. Your reasoning is peculiar because
noise is not 'reduced' by such things. Are you pulling our legs?

BTW, it may not be damaged. Check out the manufacturer and forums
before giving up. The chip may simply have 'gunge' on it.

regards

Lawrence

On Sun, 12 Oct 2003 10:05:02 +0100, in uk.sci.astronomy , "Hayley"
wrote:

Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

AFAIR they're a ceramic glued to the substrate and the connectors are
soldered on. Most likely the rapid cooling cracked the ceramic or one
of the connections. You need to cool things SLOWLY....
--
Mark McIntyre
CLC FAQ http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html
CLC readme: http://www.angelfire.com/ms3/bchambless0/welcome_to_clc.html


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I only wish I was.... I dont belong to any of the forums on CCDs, I didnt
spray the front part where light enters I sprayed the electronics side
I though it would be risky if I went over board with the cooling, but it was
only a short spray, i was shocked, I will look at it today.
I thought CCDs were cooled for electronic noise reduction?,

Hayley
"Lawrence" lawrence@astronomer wrote in message
s.com...
On Sun, 12 Oct 2003 10:05:02 +0100, "Hayley"
wrote:

Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word
of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

SOB SOB

Hayley


Hayley, I am puzzled that you should do this? If you join the groups
relating to your CCD camera (eg StarlightExpress), people will explain
exactly how to treat the camera. Your reasoning is peculiar because
noise is not 'reduced' by such things. Are you pulling our legs?

BTW, it may not be damaged. Check out the manufacturer and forums
before giving up. The chip may simply have 'gunge' on it.

regards

Lawrence

Lawrence wrote:
Your reasoning is peculiar because
noise is not 'reduced' by such things. Are you pulling our legs?

Noise is most certainly reduced by lowering temperatures, but only by
applying SLOW cooling to prevent shock damage. In a lifetime in
electronics, I have never even posessed a can of freezer spray, let
along shot a blast into sensitive electronics.

Do you know it is definitely dead ? What are the symptoms ?

Steve

"Hayley" wrote in message
...
Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word
of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

Hi Hayley,

Not a good idea :-( (Cooling is good but needs to be done slowly to allow
everything to contract together)You might be lucky though and have just
revealed a dry solder joint. (freezer sprays can be used to make
intermittent dry joint problems permanent and therefore easier to trace) It
might be worth while just checking over the joints in the area.

Robin

Robin Leadbeater wrote:
"Hayley" wrote in message
...

Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word

of

warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.


Hi Hayley,

Not a good idea :-( (Cooling is good but needs to be done slowly to allow
everything to contract together)You might be lucky though and have just
revealed a dry solder joint. (freezer sprays can be used to make
intermittent dry joint problems permanent and therefore easier to trace) It
might be worth while just checking over the joints in the area.

Robin



Good point Robin.

Hayley - I have tackle at work to reflow the joints, and to look for
obvious defects.

If you give up, I'll take a quick look at it. No guarantee of course.

Steve

In message , Hayley
writes
Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

SOB SOB

Hayley


Oops! sorry to hear about your accident.
You may get the chip back by reflowing the solder joints on the board,
but it's not easily done without cooking the chip. The chip may be
physically damaged (cracked) but its possible that one or more other
components on the board are fried as many freezer sprays are great
conductors and will short-circuit everything.
--
**********************************
Denis Taylor
two ears, one mouth, think first.
**********************************

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I will be looking at it tonight,

I will let everyone know how I get on ( my DIY electric focuser has been put
on hold)

Hayley
"Denis Taylor" wrote in message
...
In message , Hayley
writes
Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word
of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

SOB SOB

Hayley


Oops! sorry to hear about your accident.
You may get the chip back by reflowing the solder joints on the board,
but it's not easily done without cooking the chip. The chip may be
physically damaged (cracked) but its possible that one or more other
components on the board are fried as many freezer sprays are great
conductors and will short-circuit everything.
--
**********************************
Denis Taylor
two ears, one mouth, think first.
**********************************

Next time try boiling water - in lieu of that drink ten beers and hit your
head with a hammer. Hope this helps!
Mr Fix It

Hayley wrote:

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I will be looking at it tonight,

I will let everyone know how I get on ( my DIY electric focuser has been put
on hold)

Hayley
"Denis Taylor" wrote in message
...
In message , Hayley
writes
Well if we didnt experiment we wouldnt get anywhere, however heres a word
of
warning.
last night i tried spraying freezer spray on the ccd chip of the camera,
with the idea of reducing noise
and even though it was only a short 5 second spray the CCD chip Died.

SOB SOB

Hayley


Oops! sorry to hear about your accident.
You may get the chip back by reflowing the solder joints on the board,
but it's not easily done without cooking the chip. The chip may be
physically damaged (cracked) but its possible that one or more other
components on the board are fried as many freezer sprays are great
conductors and will short-circuit everything.
--
**********************************
Denis Taylor
two ears, one mouth, think first.
**********************************